Written By Ari R. Content notes: acute onset chronic illness, medical ableism, chronic illness related grief, immunocompromised isolation, accessible hiking Despite a couple relatively minor issues here and there, I was a picture of health prior to 2021. I worked 9-5 three days a week while also in graduate school, led a ministry at a church, had a thriving social life, and walked everywhere since I did not (and still do not) drive. I could walk up to 10 miles a day in the midsummer’s heat and went on frequent runs. All of this came to an end in 2021. I managed to finish my Master’s Degree just a couple months prior to the rapid deterioration of my health. I became ill (unrelated to COVID-19). I lost weight and experienced fainting, chest pain with shortness of breath while standing, heart arrhythmias, bouts of debilitating nausea and sickness, and a vast array of symptoms that affected my entire body. After months of seeing many doctors (a majority of whom dismissed my symptoms as “anxiety”), I was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), gastroparesis, vascular compressions, and other comorbid chronic health conditions that greatly affect my day-to-day life. I am no longer able to walk nearly as much as I did previously, and often when I do walk distances, I need to use mobility aids or even bring out my wheelchair if my symptoms worsen. I am immunocompromised as a result of my illnesses and live primarily in isolation with my husband who also has a chronic health condition. This inability to participate out in the world like I used to has led to difficulty with mental health, maintaining friendships, and feeling properly connected with the world and others.   Though my illness presents my husband and I with such challenges, it has led us to have a greater appreciation of nature. Being able to find a refuge in nature, though limited, has allowed me to find peace I otherwise would not have. Incorporating hiking (when I can) into my life with chronic illness has been a challenge in and of itself, but is important for my mental health. I can only go on short hikes in Autumn and Winter. I have heat intolerance due to POTS and am mostly homebound- sometimes bedridden- in the Spring and Summer. From making sure I have enough water, electrolyte powders, emergency medication, my medical ID, and my collection of joint braces and stability aids, to having to plan hiking trips on days and times when the parks are less crowded (as an immunocompromised person, it is essential that I avoid crowds), even short hikes with chronic illness require extensive planning and preparation. We have often planned a hiking trip with excitement, but I ended up feeling too ill to go, leading to feelings of immense disappointment; however, when I am able to go for a hike, the feelings of joy and gratitude are inexplicable. The first two photos are from my first hike post-illness. Though it was a short hike, my husband and best friend held my hands the whole way through, making sure I did not fall or get hurt. Having shared my first hike post-illness with two people I deeply cherish is something for which I am very grateful. I lost a majority of friendships due to my illness. Many people accused me of “faking it for attention”, or criticized me otherwise, while others simply walked out. Eric and Maddie held my hands the same way they have been holding my hands throughout the span of my illness. Maddie is one of my longest and closest friends but because we live hundreds of miles away from each other, we only see each other once or twice a year. Maddie is very understanding and accommodating of our health needs and takes a COVID-19  test prior to visiting us, while also masking in indoor settings. Photo C: me sitting by a beautiful dam after completing a hike. Please note that the author is not masking in the photos solely because she is with her partner in a mostly empty park, and her best friend who took covid precautions prior to visiting. There are many people with chronic illness, like myself, who cannot safely hike alone. For those without a hiking partner, group hikes may present a good option. Yet, parks rarely hold accessible group hikes, and when they do (or rather, claim to do), immunocompromised people are almost always  left out of the accessibility discussion. Masks, COVID testing and vaccinations are no longer required for group activities- even those that are supposed to be accessible. Because of this, many immunocompromised people have been forced into isolation. Why is this? Why aren’t invisible illnesses considered a disability despite how disabling they are? Why isn’t our society doing anything to protect the immunocompromised and physically vulnerable? These are questions to which I do not have the answers; however, I share my story with the hope of raising awareness of the fact that immunocompromised people deserve accommodations too, and encouraging others to reach out to their local parks and ask what accommodations they have in place for immunocompromised people who want to participate in accessible activities. Does the park require masks to be worn during accessible group hikes? Are these hikes planned during off-peak hours so as to minimize crowd exposure? Just as there are activities tailored for wheelchair users, could there be a hike tailored to those who are immunocompromised and are taking many of the same precautions? I plan to reach out to my local park system to inquire about accessibility for those who are immunocompromised, and I want to encourage others in my situation to do the same. I am grateful to have found a refuge in nature in the midst of my chronic illness. Though it can require a substantial amount of preparation and post-hike care, it has been a source of joy and healing for my mind, body, and soul. I hope that one day hiking, especially hiking in community, can become more accessible for those with chronic illness and disabilities, including those who are immunocompromised. I would like to thank my dearest friends Eric and Maddie for their unending love and support. I would also like to thank Maddie for helping me write the first part of this piece. Writing about my illness is very important to me for the purpose of raising awareness, but it can also be difficult due to the trauma associated with my chronic illness journey. For this reason, I am grateful for her assistance in helping me write my story. BIO: Ari R. is a 20-something who enjoys reading, writing, hiking, doing digital art, and crafting. Due to the extent of her disability and the nature of her illness, she lives primarily in isolation with her husband who has an autoimmune condition. Together, they enjoy listening to audiobooks, watching movies, and discovering new parks and sights around their town.

Disabled Hikers interviewed Amber Katzira about their experiences finding belonging in nature and the importance of time outdoors for physical, mental, and emotional well being. Amber also shares the ways that criminalization of camping in the US has affected their health and safety, and how meaningful it was to experience "right to roam" in other countries. CN: mentions of assault, criminalization, trauma Disabled Hikers : How has nature supported you as a neurodivergent person with trauma? Has your sense of safety and well-being shifted with time outdoors? Amber Katzira: Honestly there aren't words enough to express how much. Its not just psycho-emotional or whatever, it's very physical. When spending time in Nature, of course I feel less stressed and more content, which affects every body system. Inflammation, fatigue, these are all reduced. But it's more magical than that, it’s like it flips a switch that changes everything in my system. Because it reminds me very deeply, in a way that even my deep nervous system and body systems understand, that we are part of something harmonious and beautiful, relational and cooperative. That we are not and can never be outcasts. That belonging is everywhere. a selfie of a non-binary person with red wavy hair, white skin and blue eyes in a mossy forest where deep pink foxglove is growing in the background, they are smiling. DH: How have your experiences of pain, chronic fatigue, or cognitive differences impacted your access to nature? What kinds of barriers do you encounter? AK: Even though I do experience a reduction in pain, inflammation and fatigue, I still have these things, especially with walking. There are times I can walk very far and times I can't and shouldn't walk at all. I don't think the outdoors should be about walking or even necessarily about moving from point A to B. There are times when I'd just like to Forest Bathe and not go anywhere. What if we had resting places in Nature that were harmonious with the land? Places you could lay down for example? I saw something like it in the Swiss Alps where they had curvy wooden ergonomic benches so you could lay down with your head supported and view the scenery! But they were in a very inaccessible location. These should be in places you can get to easily but are outside the city. The other problem is that I don't drive due to cognitive differences and there are very few ways to get to Nature without a car. What if public transit went to more Nature areas instead of just towns? What if agencies drove disabled people to Nature instead of just to like doctors appointments? And in general, if people organized to drive those who couldn't to Nature areas frequently? DH: What does time outdoors look like for you? What activities do you enjoy? AK: I enjoy camping, making fires, cooking over them. Foraging and making herbal medicines. Making cordage and baskets from plants. Especially invasive ones, as a way to not only clear them but also make them into something useful and beautiful. I also enjoy just being with all the beings, having sensory moments, touching leaves, sharing energy with trees, seeing shapes in the sky, faces in the rocks and so much more, just communing. I also love a good ritual, all our rituals, no matter what tradition, are more powerful outdoors, on the Earth, I believe. DH: What does camping mean for you? How does it feel different to camp out of necessity or by choice? Have you experienced stigmatization or criminalization for camping? AK: Camping is kind of fraught for me. I have been homeless many times due to being disabled and autistic and not being able to work. It was both liberating and terrifying. In a way, I enjoyed finding places to camp, using my skills to live instead of working to pay rent to a landlord. However being disabled meant I was sometimes not able to care for myself, and now it would be even harder since I have trouble walking sometimes. But the hardest thing was the criminalization. I could sleep outside ok, find lovely places to sleep on the earth, but then have constant fear of being arrested, ticketed, woken up in the middle of the night, having my camping gear confiscated so I couldn't survive outdoors. Over time it was a constant source of anxiety, because that did happen, many times. It's led me to have anxiety even when I'm legally camping now. There was also the worry of being assaulted, because of being outside with no protection, which has also happened many times. Other things are criminalized which could improve our quality of life, such as hitchhiking, making things and selling them on the street, busking, or even just sitting in public nowadays. a scene from the Carpathian mountains where my ancestors used to live: a steep forested slope with a bare rock mountain top that is striated and gray in color When I learned that some countries have “right to roam” I wanted to experience that. It's like another reality after being criminalized just for camping for years and years. I went to a country with “right to roam” a few years ago. I asked my hosts how would I know I'm on private property and where is ok to camp? They told me, no one will mind if you're on their property, they will be happy to see someone enjoying the outdoors! Wow! I couldn't wrap my brain around it. We aren't even allowed to sit on public property here a lot of the time much less sleep. So the way camping is highly regulated here, only in designated areas where you usually need a car and it's expensive and you need reservations and so on, it's very directly because camping is associated with homelessness and poverty and that's stigmatized in the US. I still love camping but it's a whole thing, with a lot of trauma attached to it for me now. If I could, I'd mostly live outdoors or in very natural housing, such as a rammed earth house. I feel WAY better if I do and all my issues get better. I probably have chemical sensitivities that are improved by it. But that seems to be possible only if you have money to live on land and build stuff. I've never found a way to live the way I need to, ideally for my mental and physical health, instead usually living in subpar housing with mold or other issues. So that's all very hard and has systemic reasons of ableism and classism.

A video interview between Judy Smith and Syren Nagakyrie Syren Nagakyrie, founder of Disabled Hikers, interviews Judy Smith, a longtime disabled advocate, about her experiences as a disabled person before and after the Americans with Disabilities Act and her dream for a more accessible future. Judy Smith became disabled in 1977 at the age of 17, due to a spinal cord injury in a car accident. As a lifelong nature and outdoor lover, she had to learn how to navigate the world as a wheelchair user. A founding member and former Artistic Director of AXIS Dance Company in Berkeley, CA, Judy is an avid birder and organizes accessible outings in the Bay Area with Golden Gate Bird Alliance. Transcript Syren Nagakyrie: Hello, I am Syren Nagakyrie, they/them pronouns. I am a white non-binary person with shoulder length brown hair, and behind me is the Disabled Hikers logo. And I am here with Judy Smith, a longtime disabled outdoor advocate and recreationalist who's going to share a little bit of her story with us today. Welcome, Judy.   Judy Smith: I'm glad to be here.   Syren: Would you like to introduce yourself?   Judy: Sure, I can say a little bit about myself. My name is Judy and I do use she/her pronouns. I am a white, older lesbian. I have my gray hair pulled back in a braid. I'm light skinned and I'm wearing a gray turtleneck. And I am actually zooming in from Ohlone land. They are the rightful owners of this place that I live called Oakland.   Yeah, so I was lucky enough to grow up in the mountains of Colorado. I spent most of my childhood being in nature and riding my horses in national parks and that kind of thing. So nature has always just been a first love of mine.   I was injured in a car accident when I was 17 in 1977, which was, 20 years before the Americans with Disabilities Act. And at that point, disabled people were still really not very seen at all. And I was in a small town of about 1000 people. I was the only physically disabled person that I knew of in the county.   And becoming disabled that young, I have a spinal cord injury, so I use a power wheelchair. It changed everything for me. I really thought that my life was pretty much over because I was planning on an equestrian career. And so having my plan A and the only plan I had for my life yanked out from under me and not being able to access the outdoors was really devastating.   I had the good fortune, after spending 5 winters in a wheelchair in Colorado in the mountains, to have a disabled friend that I knew in Boulder suggest that I move to Berkeley, California. Which I did. It was crazy. I was 23 years old, I knew nothing about urban living. And I still kind of don't know how I ended up here in an urban environment.   But I got here in 1983. It was really at the height of the civil rights movement for people with disabilities, the independent living movement. My friends, my mentors were Judy Heumann, Ed Roberts, Marilyn Golden, you know, all of these people that were really instrumental in those of us with disabilities having the quality of lives that we do now.   So when I got hurt, you know, I did, I felt like I was never going to be able to be outdoors again, really, you know, and all of the places that I used to go, I didn't feel I could go anymore. So I think moving into a city kind of isolated me a little bit even more. Being outdoors, but I never lost my love for it.   We're really lucky in the San Francisco Bay Area. The East Bay Regional Parks District is the largest regional park district in the country, and there's parks everywhere. You know, and so of course, I started going to parks and finding these places. A lot of them were somewhat accessible, but a lot of them had ridiculous barriers, like a log in front of the trailhead so that motorcycles couldn't get through. That also meant people in wheelchairs couldn't get through, you know, gates that were too narrow for a wheelchair to get through. So when the Americans with Disabilities Act really started saying, you know, it's an imperative to make places accessible, I did start noticing a change. And I was able to get outside more and do more. So now, I spend the majority of my free time as much as I possibly can.   I retired from being a founding member and the artistic director of Axis Dance Company, in Oakland. I had an indoor career. So, when I retired in 2018, my imperative for myself was to get myself in nature more.   When COVID hit, I was able to do the California Naturalist certification online, which made, you know, that possible really. And, so all of this stuff started opening up for me in terms of being in nature.   Bonnie Lewkowicz who is at the Bay Area Adaptive Sports and Recreation Program, asked me if I would start doing accessible nature programming, especially birding. So I started doing that. My life now is really very much focused on being outdoors and making sure other disabled people can get outdoors.   Syren: Yeah, I love that. Do you have a favorite park in the East Bay? It is so beautiful there.   Judy: Well, I have kind of my home patches are Reinhart Regional Park, Oakland Hills. It's part of Redwood Regional Park. And I also spent a lot of time out at Arrowhead Marsh, which is part of the Martin Luther King Jr. shoreline. It's out by the Oakland Airport, and I avoided going there for most of the time I've lived in California. It just seemed too industrial, but it is a jewel of a wetland. So especially in the winter, we have a lot of shorebirds and ducks and other water birds that come in. It's just a wonderful place. I was there last week and there is a burrowing owl there now, which seems really early. But, these are all, these two places are within 20 minutes drive for me. Unfortunately, neither of them are very public transportation accessible.   But then I also have favorite parks that are further south of me, Coyote Hills. I hiked there with my sister one day, who's not disabled, and we were there for six hours. There are a lot of trails that aren't "accessible." But I think my favorite trails are the ones that I call accidentally accessible. They're not the paved half mile loop around the parking lot, you know. They're ones that -- my power wheelchair does really pretty well outdoors. It's not specifically designed for that, it's my everyday chair, it just happens to do pretty well -- So I am able to get around terrain that I might not recommend other wheelchair users try, especially.   But, having a power wheelchair, it just, really changed my life. I'll tell you a story about that.   I used a manual wheelchair when I got out of rehab. I didn't want a power wheelchair because I thought it would make me more disabled, people would think I was more disabled. But we lived on the side of a mountain with a rutted dirt driveway. My barn was down the hill, my arena was down the hill. I was still working with horses and I was teaching lessons and such, but I had to be pushed everywhere. My mom finally got disgusted with that and she stuck my little brother in this portable electric chair that I had and sent him down the driveway to make sure he could do it without killing himself. And she said, you're getting in that. I was so pissed, but that changed my life, because all of a sudden I could get around. Then I got an outdoor, a heavier duty power wheelchair. And I was able to go to the barn myself. You know, we made the gates so that I could open them myself. I was able to go down the driveway. I still wasn't able to go on a lot of the trails that I went on, but it really opened up my life.   So, I really encourage people to get as much assistive technology as they can. Because it does, it changes your life.   I'm not wheelchair bound. This chair gives us, our adaptive equipment gives us our freedom. I really work to change that paradigm. So if people introduce me as somebody who's wheelchair bound, I correct them right away. Being in a power wheelchair allows me to, of course, access the ADA accessible trails. And there are a lot of trails that I can't, but there are so many more that I can do that I didn't expect to be able to.   Now, I'm a bird watcher and I'm a slow birder. I might be out for four or five hours and only go a half a mile or a mile, but for me, that's just being out outdoors. I just find places to sit and see what comes to me. I just notice. And I think doing the naturalist training really changed the way I am in nature. It made me much more observant, much more aware.   I used to want to go hike and go as far as I can, kind of as fast as I could. And that doesn't interest me now.   Syren: Yeah, yeah, I love that.   I went to herbal school for two years and did a lot of, you know, studying herbs and plants and things like that. And also I will hike half a mile and spend all that time just nerding out on plants and seeing who we can see. That's how we do Disabled Hikers does our group hikes, it's a lot of nerd time in nature. It's pretty great.   Judy: And I think, you know, birding really, lends itself to that nature. I'm not one of those birders that has my life list and I'm trying to add species to it all of the time; going as fast as I can to see as much as I can. I love introducing people to birding and to birding in a mindful way.   Syren: So how has, how have your experiences kind of changed over the past, 47 years? How do you think accessibility has improved? Has anything gotten worse? Has it kind of stayed the same?   Judy: I think it's definitely improved. Really, definitely. Are there still things that need to be done? Yes.   You know, I travel some with Bonnie and she does trail assessments and has a wonderful website, Access California, accessca.org I’m kind of learning from her how to assess trails and how to report things that aren't accessible. But there are a lot of things that are still like really simple to fix barriers, but definitely it's improved and definitely there's more awareness.   But I'll tell you one of the things that I don't think has improved as much as I would hope or would have hoped is the number of people that are disabled in wheelchairs that I see out on the trails. So often I'm the only one out there. I get so many people that say, how great it is that you can get outdoors, how wonderful for you. And I always just say, yeah, how wonderful for you too.   But I just am still such a freak out there in nature because people aren't used to seeing, disabled hikers in a wheelchair going up the side of a hill, or being in some rather remote dirt trail. And that to me is, I get so excited when I see other disabled people out there.   So that's what I don't think has changed enough is the number of people who are disabled who know that it's an option to be outdoors, who have a passion for being outdoors because it changes your life. It affects you on, the physical, the spiritual, the emotional, the psychological level. There's a gazillion studies now that talk about the benefits of nature.   And I think people really found that out during COVID. All of a sudden, you know, going to the mall and going to the movie and going to concerts wasn't available. So what happened? People went out. A lot of people. And I see in general a lot more people, but I still don't see a lot more disabled people. And that's what I would really like to see change.     Syren: Do you think that contributes to people's attitudes around disability? How do you think people's reactions and attitudes to you being disabled out on the trail has changed over the years?   Judy: Well, I think disability, visibility, we know has a long way to go. Our culture in terms of media, in terms of the portrayals that we see on TV or the stories that we hear about, in podcasts and stuff, that has a lot of room for improvement.   But I think when people, and I think the same was true when I was dancing and with the dance company, is that when people see disabled people doing something that they don't expect us to be able to do or seeing us in places that they don't expect to see us, I think it can't help but even subconsciously open the mind a little bit and to get people thinking a little bit differently about disability and about ability.   One of the reasons that I started, that I was really excited to start organizing nature programs and accessible birding was because I would see all these things and I still see them, this hike or that naturalist talk or, this birding event, and they don't say anything about accessibility, or they don't say enough that, I feel like, okay, I can show up there comfortably.   So that was a real impetus to doing my own programming and, getting other people, like more experienced birders, involved as leaders so that I could also learn, and I think over the last four years -- I'm pretty active with Golden Gate Bird Alliance, which used to be Golden Gate Audubon, but one of the organizations that changed our name specifically to become more welcoming --   But anyway, I've gotten more involved in that and I have seen more field trips starting to talk about the language, more accessibility language, you know, describing the the terrain, describing the slope, describing the length, that kind of thing. I know that people in Golden Gate Bird Alliance are more used to seeing those of us with disabilities birding, because of the trips that I've been able to organize.   The more of us who are disabled, who have the ability to get outdoors and to access nature and to get involved in things like hiking groups and birding groups, and show up at events, the better it's going to be for all of us in the long run. But change is slow, and, disabled people have not traditionally been seen as, the users of the outdoors. It's the mountaineer, mountain biker, backpacker, long distance hiker, you know. So changing that idea about who is in nature is one of my passions.     Syren: What's your vision for the next 50 years? What do you what would you really like to see change in terms of disability access, you know, and the outdoors?   Judy: I would love to see the outdoors survive and to see nature survive. And right now, that's not a guarantee, especially under the regime that we're living under. My first hope is that nature can survive this period of time and that, you know, human beings will wake up en masse and decide to do something about climate change and the loss of biodiversity.   In terms of access, assistive technology has gotten so much better. We have track chairs, we have terrain hoppers, we have these other powered mobility devices that allow people to get out in nature. I hope those become more readily available.   And I hope that, here we're lucky to have urban parks and urban open spaces that you can get to by public transportation; a lot of them you can't, and we know transportation is a huge barrier for especially physically disabled people, and especially those who use wheelchairs. So, seeing improvements in public transportation. I'd like to see more people being able to get the places that they want to go.   And I'd love to just know that in 50 years, every disabled person is going to know that it's an option for me to be outdoors. And “wow, the outdoors is really awesome. Oh, I feel so much better when I'm out here.” It's my happy place is being out in nature. I would like to know that every disabled person and every disabled kid is going to be able to partake in it.   Syren: I love that vision. I think it's so important. And I think too, as we're thinking about, yeah, how to really bring people together to, you know, en masse to really address these climate issues that we're experiencing. I think the disabled community has such a powerful role in that, and I think the more that we can help folks really get out there, and know that this is an option, and share our stories, I think we can really help move that.   So I really appreciate you for spending some time with me and sharing your story with the Disabled Hikers community and thank you for all your work over the years.   Judy: Well, I really appreciate the work that you do too and we just, we need to keep pushing and we need to keep getting more people involved and being more visible, not that anomaly.   End Transcript

Use the interactive map or trail list to find detailed information about trail accessibility. DISABLED HIKERS TRAIL GUIDES Trail Guides There are an endless number of blogs and guidebooks out there about the outdoors, giving hikers access to information about trail conditions, difficulty, and directions, but there is one problem: The majority of the information out there assumes that the person reading it isn’t disabled. Written by disabled hikers for disabled hikers, we give you information that other guides overlook. Our descriptions include detailed information for every stage of accessible hiking - from getting to the trailhead, amenities, accessibility information, trail descriptions, and more using our signature Spoon Rating System . Whether you are looking for wheelchair friendly hikes, disability accessible trails, sensory parks, or accessible picnic spots, we provide information for all types of disabilities. Trail guides are currently available for Washington, Oregon, California, and Idaho (coming soon: Alabama and North Carolina). On this page, you can access the trail guide in two ways: the interactive maps or the list down below. Interactive Trail Guide Use the interactive map below to locate trails and important accessibility information before your adventure. Trail Guide List If the interactive map does not work optimally with your assistive tech, you can find trail information at the links below. WASHINGTON Northern Cascades Rock Shelter and Newhalem Creek Olympic Peninsula Big Creek Trail Bogachiel River Trail Elk Creek Conservation Area Gatton Creek Trail Hoh Forest Riverwalk Interrorem Nature Trail Rialto Beach Trail Marymere Falls Trail Spruce Railroad Trail S. Fork Hoh to Big Flat Lyre Conservation Area Madison Falls Kalaloch Beaches Lake Aldwell to Elwha Dam Overlook Webster's Woods, Port Angeles Fine Art Center Jefferson County - COMING SOON Puget Sound Deschutes Falls Park McLane Creek Nature Trail Monarch Sculpture Park 5 Washington State Parks - Lake Sammamish, Flaming Geyser, Federation Forest, Dash Point, Saltwater Bainbridge Island - COMING SOON Islands San Juan Islands Central Cascades Coming Soon Southern Cascades Coming Soon Southwest Washington Coming Soon OREGON Portland Area Confluence Trail Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden Oregon Coast Coming Soon Willamette Valley Coming Soon Central Cascades Coming Soon Southern Cascades Coming Soon Southwest Oregon Coming Soon Central Oregon Smith Rock State Park IDAHO Boise and Southwest Idaho Boise and Southwest Idaho CALIFORNIA North Coast Redwood and Giant Sequoia Parks Mendocino County Old Smith Ranch Preserve Bay Area Coming Soon Monterey Bay Coming Soon Big Sur and Central Coast Partington Cove Shasta Cascade Coming Soon Sacramento Valley and Sierra Foothills Redwood and Giant Sequoia Parks Sierra Nevada Redwood and Giant Sequoia Parks Alabama Birmingham Coming Soon Please donate to help us create more trail guides! Your support helps us continue bringing informative trail guides to the community. Donate today! Looking for more trails? Purchase our books! Best sellers Quick View 4 inch sticker! Sticker: Jimothy Disability is Natural Price $8.00 Quick View T-shirt Bonus: Jimothy Disability is Natural Price $20.00 Quick View Signed Copy! The Disabled Hiker's Guide to Western Washington and Oregon [Paperback] Price $22.95 Quick View Signed Copy! The Disabled Hikers Guide to Northern California [Paperback] Price $24.95 Quick View 12x16 Print Poster: Jimothy Disability is Natural Price $15.00 Quick View Free Shipping Disabled Hikers Sticker Price $3.00 Quick View New Arrival Disability is Natural Sticker Price $8.00 Quick View Free Shipping Disabled Hikers Bumper Sticker Price $8.00 Quick View New Arrival Disabled Hikers Woven Patch Out of stock Get notified when new guides are added. Sign-up for our newsletter. Enter your email here Sign Up Thanks for submitting!

Together, we can make outdoor activities accessible and equitable to disabled adventurers. Help us bridge the gap between advocacy and action by supporting our efforts and initiatives. Get Involved Donate Learn about partnering with us, volunteer opportunities, and other ways to get involved. Donations are tax deductible. We are also eligible for company match programs and Donor Advised Funds! Disabled Hikers: Building Disability Community and Justice in the Outdoors Disabled Hikers was born from a vision of an outdoors culture where everyone belongs. We are building disability community and championing justice in the outdoors, working toward a culture transformed by access, representation, and equity for Disabled people. As an entirely Disabled-led organization, our work is deeply rooted in disability awareness, disability justice, and the shared pursuit of collective liberation. The Need for Change and Opportunity for Action Disabled Hikers was founded in response to a culture of exclusion in the great outdoors, typified by the challenges of access and significant questions of accessibility, as well as a lack of representation in outdoor organizations. The current limits of representation are also evident in the lack of available research about outdoor experiences, accessibility, and the disability community. There are few published research articles on the topic. In "Disabling barriers—Coping with accessibility of nature in Biosphere Reserves ", Winkler, Kosanic, and Martin-Lopez reviewed accessibility measures at Biosphere Reserves worldwide and found that only 58% considered accessibility with at least one measure. However, the measures are primarily focused on infrastructure for physical disabilities. The degree to which the measures actually improved accessibility was not reviewed. This points to the systemic exclusion of people with disabilities in the outdoors. We shift this culture of exclusion and move our mission forward through the following programs and activities to: Build community, leadership, and peer mentorship opportunities through The Disabled Hikers Network platform, directly addressing the existing lack of disability leadership and opportunities for accessible education and peer mentorship. Amplify authentic representation of people with disabilities through our Storytelling Project, v ia blogging and social media; providing stipends and editorial support to those who share their stories and moving beyond the notion of inspirational narratives of overcoming disability. Produce Trail Guides and Guidebooks that increase access to outdoor recreation by providing detailed accessibility information and trail information that goes beyond listing trails as “ADA accessible”. These guides are written by Disabled people, for Disabled people, and directly address the lack of information about accessibility in the outdoors that significantly limits access to outdoor recreation for Disabled people. Hold Accessible Group Hikes, Picnics, and Other Gatherings that are led by people with disabilities, for people with disabilities and their friends, family, and caregivers. These events provide opportunities for the cross-disability community to engage in outdoor recreation together, answering a need for community building; a lack of accessible engagement is an additional barrier to the outdoors for our community. Engage in Advocacy and Education Led by Disabled People Through a Disability Justice Lens , including working with parks, organizations, and agencies to improve accessibility and inclusion, through educational communication campaigns and policy, and challenging the dominant narrative of who is considered valid in outdoor spaces. We are opposing structural and systemic barriers to outdoor access for people with disabilities, including systemic ableism and lack of awareness about disability communities. Support our Work Funding Our Mission: Powering Access and Justice Suport Us Funding for organizations focusing on disability is challenging to secure: only 2% of philanthropic funding supports disability initiatives. Most of that funding focuses narrowly on direct services or rehabilitation, leaving advocacy, systemic change, and access initiatives severely underfunded. At Disabled Hikers, we understand this reality all too well—we have never been a fully funded organization. Yet, we persist and support our community as best we can and honor the contributions of our community to Disabled Hikers. For example, as part of our Storytelling Project, $10,000 would allow us to publish 10-20 blog and social media posts, and provide higher stipends to better recognize the effort it takes to write, organize, and publish these stories, which includes 5-6 hours of staff and volunteer time. To offer more Accessible Group Hikes and write and publish additional Trail Guides and Guidebooks it will likewise take further investment. Sponsoring these activities helps us expand our offerings and move toward greater sustainability. We aim to raise $1,500 per hike and $2,500 per trail guide. Sponsoring a hike or a guide is an excellent way to invest in our vision of Building Disability Community and Justice in the Outdoors . With additional funding, our primary focus is to build sustainability for the organization. We know it will take significant funding to fully build out our programs to the capacity needed to meet demands and to be able to expand our staff. To fully launch The Disabled Hikers Network , we project the program costs to be: $175,000 to fully develop then implement the program in one region to train new leaders $75,000 to fully develop and pilot the training program $75,000 to hire a program manager (new staff position) to train participants, organize volunteers, and expand the program $25,000 to hire subject matter experts in topics such as Indigenous land rights and traditional knowledge, racial justice, outdoor safety, and more; provide financial and travel stipends; purchase gear and supplies; and remove additional access barriers such as ASL and other language interpreters, transportation, and adaptive equipment. Donate Make a tax deductible donation to support our work. Donate Now Partner Sponsor an event, host us for training, and more. Let's get creative together. Partner With Us Get Involved Get Involved Together, we can make outdoor activities accessible and equitable to millions of disabled adventurers. 1 Bring Disabled Hikers to Your Community We can speak at events, assess locations for accessibility, lead hikes in your area, and more ! 2 Promote and Connect We are available for interviews and articles. Make a request to your favorite outdoors podcast, magazine, or other media to partner with us! Do you know any individuals or organizations doing work around disability and/or the outdoors? Connect us. 3 Donate We rely on donations to do our work! Want to get creative? Host a fundraiser for Disabled Hikers! Events, hike-a-thons, and fundraising campaigns are great ways to support, even if you aren't able to donate. 4 Volunteer Do you have professional experience in fundraising, grant writing, marketing, board membership, or other nonprofit skills? We welcome your involvement! We occasionally have other current volunteer opportunities . 5 Follow us on Social Media For the most recent updates and latest activities, follow us on Social Media! Instagram: @disabledhikers Facebook: Disabled Hikers Disabled Hikers are the invaluable base to the accessibility work in our region. They have provided professional, clear and compassionate guidance through our multiple visitor-facing projects, working seamlessly with a wide range of interest/knowledge levels and political backgrounds. Accessibility is incredibly important to the welcomability of our area and it’s become clear through our work with Syren that information is power and that we all benefit from greater accessibility. We cannot recommend them highly enough. Emily Reed | Network Director (she, her) Columbia Gorge Tourism Alliance

We are a leading advocate for inclusion and accessibility in the outdoors, guided by disability justice principles. Our Mission and Vision Disabled Hikers mission is to build disability community and justice in the outdoors towards a vision of an outdoor culture transformed by representation, access, and justice for Disabled and all other marginalized people. Donate Today! Our Story Disabled Hikers is an entirely Disabled-led organization. We celebrate disabled people’s experiences in the outdoors. We facilitate those experiences with information, resources, and events, including trail guides and group hikes. We are committed advocates for justice, access, and inclusion and work with parks, organizations, brands, and more. We challenge the dominant narrative of who is considered to be valid and which experiences matter in the outdoors. Whether enjoying the outdoors means sitting by your window or thru-hiking a trail, you are welcome here. Disabled Hikers was founded in March 2018 by Syren Nagakyrie. We incorporated as a nonprofit in January 2021. The outdoors is for everyone We believe in accessible outdoor adventure for all people. In the pursuit of that goal, we value most of all: Justice Community Access Impact Report Every year, our impact far exceeds our weight as a community-based nonprofit. We continue to dream and work towards a movement of disability leadership in the outdoors. 2024 Impact Report Click the link or image to read our full report. Our Community Partners Disabled Hikers is committed to building disability community and justice in the outdoors. Our work is possible because of our partners, funders, and friends, who fund and support our programs, and the individual donors who continuously contribute to our work with their resources and networks. Anne T. Angel Fund of Oregon Community Foundation Meet the Team Syren Nagakyrie (they/them) Founder, Director The outdoors hasn’t always felt like it was meant for me, but nature has always offered a sense of belonging even when I felt excluded otherwise. Read full bio Board of Directors Allexa Laycock Read full bio Michelle Wallace Read full bio Sam Kelly Read full bio Elena Keates Read full bio Garrett Male Read full bio Support Disabled Hikers Disabled Hikers has grown tremendously since our founding in 2018, in large part because of our incredible community of supporters. Get involved to help us continue our work. Donate Now